Mom taken to labor camp after visiting son

14:21, November 22, 2012

A WOMAN who had often gone to Beijing to appeal to higher authorities for help was taken by police back to her hometown for one year of reeducation at a labor camp after she visited her son in the capital earlier this month.

Zhao Meifu went to visit her son, Guo Dajun, who is doing postgraduate studies at the Beijing Institute of Technology, according to the Beijing Youth Daily.

The woman left her home in a village in Lanzhou City in western Gansu Province on November 5. In Beijing, she stayed in a hotel near her son's school. Zhao left Beijing for home on November 8.

But on November 12, Zhao's family received a notice from the local police of Zhao's labor reeducation term. Police claimed yesterday that the year was related to a punishment filed in 2010.

"Zhao was punished with one year of labor reeducation on May 14, 2010, after she had been punished several times for violating public order since 2007," local police said on Weibo.

"But when we sent her to reeducation, she was diagnosed with hypertension, hysteromyoma (a benign uterine tumor) and gallstones and the reeducation was suspended. Zhao was asked to have medical treatment at home and the reeducation was postponed until she could recover," police said. "According to our investigation this month, Zhao was found traveling to Beijing several times. After applying for permission to law enforcement department, we took Zhao back on November 12 and sent her to the labor camp," police said.